High school students work with city for new community basketball court

Sometimes to get things done you have to take matters into your own hands. A group of local high schoolers did just that to improve their community's basketball court.

It really came down to the condition of the court and the opportunities it could provide for kids here on the west side.

The old court needed a lot of things, like a fresh paint job. Lines have blurred or disappeared and backboards have chipping away.

Three Washington high school students took their concerns to the South Bend Rotary club two years ago. They kept at it. And now a new court is being finished up.

It's an accomplishment they say they are proud of because of what it provides for their peers.

"It may seem very minute," said Phillip Williams, a senior at Washington High School. "But this is an opportunity for a lot of kids in our area. They didn't make the team. But after school they can come here. It's their stress reliever. It gets them away from whatever trouble they were going to get in"

Plans are underway to work with the rotary club on other projects around the park, adding grills and updating seating, hoping to revitalize the area all together. They hope to have the court ready for dedication by the mayor in the next two or three weeks.